When Andrea Horwath rose in the Ontario legislature on Monday to deliver her party’s response to the provincial budget, the NDP leader might have been expected to adopt a combative tone.

That would have made sense had her intention been to join the Progressive Conservatives in voting against the Liberal government budget, which, given the Liberals’ minority position, would likely trigger an election.

Were it her wish, on the other hand, to back the budget bill and claim victory for its pledge to freeze corporate tax rates, something the NDP had supported, she might have been expected, instead, to strike a more conciliatory note.

But she did neither, sounding not angry nor pleased, but resigned to the fact that this budget and its aftermath have handed her an election hammer she would rather not hold.

[np-related]

“A lot of people don’t want an election, but many, many people think it’s worth having one over this budget,” Ms. Horwath said, providing a summation of the feedback the NDP has received over the budget — feedback that it has eagerly sought since the March 27 bill was tabled, when Ms. Horwath declared that her party would make its decision on it only after “listening to Ontarians.”

“Two things are consistent” among the responses, Ms. Horwath said: “No one thinks this budget is perfect, and they are grateful to be heard.”

What can we conclude, then, through a week of the NDP’s listening-to-Ontarians exercise? A lot of people don’t like the budget, although many of them don’t want an election over it. Oh, and they were glad to have the chance to air their grievances. Nice to have that cleared up.

‘No one thinks this budget is perfect, and they are grateful to be heard’

In the end, it will still be up to the NDP to make a decision, since PC leader Tim Hudak, no doubt having seen how these things played out in the years of minority government in Ottawa, quickly and unequivocally announced his party’s opposition to the fiscal blueprint and vowed to vote in numbers against it. It was a favourite move of Jack Layton’s, the late federal NDP leader: be first in line to oppose something and toss the topple-the-government hot potato to someone else’s hands.

When Ms. Horwath spoke to reporters last Tuesday, having seen the budget, but before it was released to the public, one of her opening lines was that it had given her party a tough decision. Although reporters most wanted to know if she were prepared to vote the government down, Ms. Horwath presented the idea of soliciting public feedback as a responsible thing to do. But it also had the effect of putting the tough decision in someone else’s hands. Whatever the call, she could stand up and announce “this is what the voters told us to do.”

From the outset, it was a silly idea. Setting up a 1-800 number for budget calls would hardly provide an accurate sample of public opinion; you’re only hearing from the people who can be bothered to call and complain.

It would be like the Toronto Maple Leafs making management decisions based on the callers to post-game shows, in which case the team would now be run by some combination of Wendel Clark and Doug Gilmour. (An idea, admittedly, not without its merits.)

Instead, Ms. Horwath is left about where she was a week ago, sounding not at all interested in bringing the government down — she has managed to avoid saying anything like “we do not support this budget” — and pleading for the parties to work together.

She spoke on Monday about how her party would “send some ideas” across the aisle to the Liberals on possible budget amendments, such as the addition of tax credits that companies could claim when they hire new employees. A small win on this or other items would allow the NDP to rightly say it wrung concessions out of the Liberals in exchange for their support.

‘We are going to continue to listen to people’

But Dalton McGuinty, never the boldest of card players, wouldn’t have been terribly intimidated by anything Ms. Horwath said.

“We are going to continue to listen to people,” she said in closing her budget response. “We very much hope that the government will work with us in the spirit of a minority government.”

As shots across the Liberal bow go, “we will continue to listen to people” could use a little work.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.